At last we've
come to the son's second evolution, the son montuno. Bearing
a step rhythm with upbeat accentuation, it's rich with African influence,
and is so versatile as to accommodate a wide range of phrasing ideas.
It is the ideal context for your new-found rhythm skills.

Rhythm Principles
Below is a comparison between the son dance rhythm and that of
the son montuno:

Figure
4.1 Comparing the son and son montunuo dance rhythms

What
is immediately apparent is that two beats of the son montuno
dance pattern: the last step on the clave 2-side, and the first step
of the clave 3-side, are delayed to the upbeat. These changes create
an asymmetric pattern with upbeat accentuation that is highly
indicative of clave orientation. The
significance of the son montuno dance rhythm becomes more obvious
in juxtaposition with the guajeo
(a.k.a. montuno) rhythm:

Figure
4.2 Son dance rhythm accents

The resurgence
of son in the form of the son montuno was due in great
part to Antonio Arcaño and Arsenio Rodríguez, two iconic
Cuban bandleaders of the early 1940s. By 1943 they had both standardised
a method of playing rhythmic instruments (see Great
Salsa Timeline), the pattern later becoming known as the guajeo
or montuno. Arsenio called it playing with 'mambo' feeling.

Dancers adapted
the son contratiempo style to suit, by delaying their last step
of the clave 2-side and the first step of the clave 3-side to coincide
with the montuno rhythm as highlighted in figure 4.2 above (beats
4+ and 6+ respectively). Thus
they gave rise to the son montuno dance pattern.

Learning
Strategy
We will start with the son step rhythm and simply transform it
into the son montuno step rhythm through two successive changes.
The changes will be done while dancing to son clave and later
validated using piano montunos. Once the son montuno rhythm
has been established, we will proceed to address the possibilities in
phrasing.

Practice
TracksAll necessary learning tracks
can be found in the Index of Tracks
page of the Ear Training tutorial series.

For
real world music, I find the son revivalist group Sierra Maestra
to be very helpful. As for classic son montuno, you can hardly
do better than to go directly to the source: 'Antonio Arcaño
y sus Maravillas' and 'Arsenio Rodríguez y su Conjunto'.

Transformation
Process

1  Perform
the son dance rhythm to a slow-to-medium tempo clave-only track:

Figure
4.3 Son step rhythm to 2-3 son clave

2
 Delay the third step of the 2-side and take it just before the
first beat of the clave 3-side sounds:

Figure
4.4 Son montuno dance rhythm 2-side to clave

Note
that the rhythmic position of this beat is just before the beginning
of the next bar; precisely the same relationship that the rumba
clave's ponché has with its following bar of music.

It
is a point of rhythmic tension, but unlike the usual cases where sound
of the clave's bombó is resolved by a physical
step afterwards, the converse happens: the physical step occurs to generate
the tension, which is resolved by the sound of the clave. In other words,
your footfall anticipates the clave beat, instead of the clave
beat anticipating your footfall.

3
 Delay the first step of the 3-side and take it with the bombó:

Figure
4.5 Son montuno dance rhythm 2-side and 3-side to clave

Both
the sound of the clave and the first step of the 3-side coincide on
the bombó to generate rhythmic tension, which is then
resolved by the second step. This is a special instance, as it is the
only time rhythmic tension is both made and resolved in the step rhythm.

4  Validate
your son montuno step rhythmBy dancing it to a piano and clave track, and a piano only track.
You should find that your footfall synchronises with the piano montuno
as highlighted in Figure 4.2 above.

Potential
Phrasings

I  "Mambo"
If we accent the first step of each bar, we have:

Figure
4.6 Son montuno dance rhythm, "mambo" phrasing

The
accents fall on arguably the two most important beats of the clave:
the first beat of the 2-side, and the bombó. Hence stressing
the first step of each bear is the equivalent of stressing clave. However,
this would overlook the importance of the last step of the 2-side (modified
to beat 4+). The
phrases are tied together by two consecutive points of rhythmic tension:
the 2-side phrase ends with one, and the 3-side phrase begins with another.

II 
"Son"
If we accent the last step of each bar and treat it as the beginning
of the phrase, we have:

Figure
4.7 Son montuno dance rhythm, "son" phrasing

This
phrasing interprets the clave principle more closely, that is,
there is a fuerte [strong] side and a debil [weak] side.
The strong phrase contains both points of rhythmic tension; while the
weak phrase contains steps aligned squarely on the whole beats (without
upbeats) and is identical to that of modern son. I think of this
as a call-and-response pattern between an African phrase containing
upbeat accentuation, and an European phrase which does not.

The
important highlight of the last step on the 2-side is accented, as is
the ponché. But the bombó is only weakly
stressed, as the phrase ends on its resolution.

III 
Loo's Serving SuggestionI use this interpretation quite often:

Figure
4.8 Son montuno dance rhythm, Loo's preferred phrasing

For
me, it affords the best of all worlds. I can:

literally
interpret the clave 2-side;

accent the last step of the 2-side more prominently by letting it
stand alone;

accent the bombó and still end the phrase strongly because
of the ponché;

agree
the beginning of every phrase and accent with the montuno rhythm.

The
clearest disadvantages are that smoothness is sacrificed because phrases
no longer span over bars of music; and there is diminished call-and-response
in the phrasing.

Dancing
in Partnership
A beauty of the son montuno is that it can be danced, as a lead
or follow, with a partner who is dancing an agreement step rhythm -
your partner need not know the son montuno. This is possible
because the non-synchronous steps of the son montuno are taken
after those of the son (or mambo). In the most challenging
scenario:

as a follower,
you will have to absorb the lead force and move your torso to son
timing, half a beat before taking your step on son montuno
timing.

as a lead,
you will have to deliver the lead force to son timing before
stepping on son montuno timing.

One of the joys
of dancing is in experiencing someone else's interpretation of music.
And if you dance with like-minded people, then the converse must be
true; that they would enjoy experiencing the phrasing of your dancing.

Thankfully, as
so long of both dancers adopt compatible step rhythms, phrasing will
remain a very personal and independent facet of the dance phenomenon
- the ultimate expression of individuality in a partnered world.